A TEESDALE family has completed a 125-mile coast to coast route on a 100-year-old steam engine in aid of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
The Bowron family, from Middleton-in-Teesdale, travelled from Silloth in Cumbria to Hartlepool on their lovingly-restored steam engine, named Albion.
To mark the engine’s 100th year Peter Bowron, 56, and daughter Charlotte’s partner, Adam Hardy, 27, travelled on the steam engine, while wife Ann Bowron, 50, and Charlotte, 23, accompanied the pair in a vintage wagon on August 3-6.
Ann said: “The event went really well and we didn’t encounter any problems. We used one ton of coal and twelve hundred gallons of water to complete the four day trip.”
The Aveling & Porter showman’s engine has been owned and restored by the Bowron family since 1999. Weighing 13 tonnes the twin cylinder compound engine can reach 15mph – pretty fast for the driver when the steering wheel is 40 turns from lock to lock – but has an average speed of 8mph.
The support wagon, a 1965 Scammell Highwayman, named Duchess, carried all of the coal and tools needed for the journey. She will celebrate her 50th Birthday this year.
The family has raised more than £1,000 for charity.
Ann said: “The Great North Air Ambulance Service is such a worthy cause. It has a positive impact on those who need help in rural areas which is why so many people around here raise money for the air ambulance.”
The steam engine will be exhibited at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in the first weekend of September.
To sponsor the Albion and its journey please visit www.justgiving.com/albion100
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